


My Equator

by oj_lod



Series: Patton's Guide to Fatherhood [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series), Thomas Sanders
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe - Human, Family, Found Family, Logan and Patton are married, M/M, Patton is a good Dad, Virgil and Roman are their kids, Virgil is a lil poetry nerd, and so is logan, im a sucker for these fics so i wrote one, it's all just indulgent fluff tbh, roman is a theater kid and proud, the power of an author, the title is borrowed from a poem about family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-07-24
Packaged: 2018-12-06 07:45:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11596116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oj_lod/pseuds/oj_lod
Summary: After getting their first son, Roman. Patton and Logan decide to adopt again. Virgil just wants to write poetry. Oh, and maybe have a family, that'd be nice.





	My Equator

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! This is just complete fluff, partly to make up for the angst that is part one of Friends, and partly just because I need my fix of good Sanders Sides family content. So much in fact that I'm turning this into a series. THis is sort of an introduction, but expect more antics and #qualitybants in the future.

Patton stares out the window, watching the scenery fade from the familiar suburbs to dull cityscape. Logan squints as the sun hits his face, muttering something about safety, and even quieter, about the moron that just cut him off. Their son, eleven year old Roman, sprawls across the back seat, singing a Broadway song for the umpteenth time. Logan’s eyes flit up to the mirror to study him.  
“You've been going since this morning. Make sure you stay hydrated.” It's not aggressive so much as it's concerned parenting, so Roman just shrugs.  
“You said the best way to memorize is repetition.”  
“Well, don't let your audition get in the way of studying. Did you finish your assignment?” Roman stutters for a second.  
“Aw, come on! You teach that class! Give me a break.” Patton smiles before intervening.  
“Alright now. Honey, I'm sure Roman will finish it just fine. And Roman, listen to your father. He’s sometimes right,”  
“I’m always right!”  
“And you’ll feel better after you do the assignment. Besides, I'll give you a Patton the back just for the effort!” Both Husband and son groan, momentarily united in their hatred for Patton’s puns. He sometimes jokes that the best part about finally being a father was the opportunity for dad jokes.  
“Alright, here it is.” St. Joan’s Orphanage. The very place they'd adopted Roman several years ago. Logan slips out of the car, going to the trunk to grab a water. Patton grips his door handle, preparing to get out himself, when Roman suddenly speaks.  
“Dad?”  
“Yeah, Pumpkin?” Roman rolls his eyes at the nickname, but his voice is much softer than usual, his boisterous energy seeming to have drained. It's enough for Patton to let go of the door and turn around to face him.  
“When I get a sibling, you're not going to forget about me,right? I mean obviously,” He flashes a lopsided grin. “I'm unforgettable! But, well…” he trails off and Patton rushes to reassure him, every ounce of paternal instinct kicking in at once.  
“Of course not kiddo!” He hesitates for a moment. “You want a sibling, don't you?” Roman nods.  
“Yeah. I just…” His voice is barely above a whisper. “Nobody cared about me for a long time. And...well I don't want to lose you or Pop.” Patton steels himself. I'm not going to cry, that'll embarrass him. Instead he reaches out and gives the boy’s hand a firm squeeze.  
“Roman Sanders, you are my son and I love you. Nothing is ever going to change that.” Dang it, his voice cracked. Well, hiding emotions has never been his strong point.  
“I know.” Roman tries to be casual, but there’s a small smile spreading across his face. Patton smiles as well, part relief and part reveling in the knowledge that he's getting good at reading Roman, despite the preteen drama that comes with it. Speaking of which, the now cheerful boy leaps out of the car in an impressively graceful sashay. “Now, let's see who shall be worthy of becoming my knight!” He bounds up the familiar steps, juuust beating Logan to the door. Patton snorts, knowing the mildly competitive nature of both his loved ones. He heads inside himself, making a game of slipping in before the door shuts. It's an automatic door, but entertaining nonetheless. He lets out a sigh as the stifling heat of Florida is replaced with cool, artificial air.  
St. Joan's defies most orphanage stereotypes. There's no gloomy manor halls or cruel headmistress. Roman has mentioned on multiple occasions that it had been a good place. “But I did sing Hard Knock Life whenever I could.”  
“Mr. Sanders!” Patton looks up to see the receptionist, their face sporting a huge grin as Roman bounces around them, talking a mile a minute.  
“Heya Tayln! Long time no see!” He gives them a brief hug.  
“So I was told you were thinking of adopting again?” Logan nods while Patton beams.  
“Yup!”  
“Well, all the kids here are great, as I'm sure you know.” They smile at Roman. “Most of them are playing outside right now, so why don't you go out, see if there's anyone you really connect with? You can talk with one of the adoption agents in about an hour.” Patton places his hand in Logan’s, not missing the way his mouth twitches into a barely-suppressed smile.  
“That sounds great!” Roman leads them out of the foyer and through the halls until they reach the playground. He then runs off to greet a couple old friends.  
“I'm going to go this way, if that's alright.” Logan gestures to a group of girls constructing something in the sandpit. “Their structure has potential.” Patton laughs, kissing his husbands cheek.  
“Yeah, yeah okay. Go become the world's greatest sandbox architect.” Logan rolls his eyes and heads that way. Sometimes he and Roman are so similar it's shocking that they aren't biologically related.  
All the children look decently happy, which puts Patton at ease. Sad children were the actual worst thing! No one that young deserves to be unhappy. His eyes seem to follow his train of thought. They settle on a stubby willow tree resting on the outskirts of the yard. More accurately, they settle on the figure of a boy hunkered down beneath it, scribbling in a spiral notebook. Without thinking, he heads over to the tree.  
“Hey there.” The boy startles, apparently not having heard Patton’s approach. He doesn't look up, however.  
“Hi.” He continues to write (draw?) in the beat-up notebook. After a moment, Patton sits down next to him. Despite the temptation, he doesn't let himself look over the kid’s shoulder. He'd probably find it invasive.  
“Boy, it's nice and shady over here!” The boy’s eyes dart sideways and regard him with an “are you serious” expression.  
“Uh, yeah? I guess so.” The sit for another awkward moment. Patton hums the tune Roman has now forced into his brain.  
“Any reason in particular you aren't playing?” The boy sighs, finally looking up.  
“I don't want to. I'd rather write. Besides,” he looks back down. “They all think I'm weird anyway.” Patton can feel his heart break a little.  
“I don't think you're weird.” A snort.  
“Yeah, well you're an adult and you feel bad for me.” He goes back to writing.  
“What exactly are you writing, kiddo?” He shrugs.  
“Poetry, mostly.” He doesn't volunteer anything else.  
“Oh, my husband loves poetry!” The boy seems genuinely surprised by this. Patton guesses most people around him felt the same way about poetry as they did about him.  
“Really?”  
“Yup! Hey, why don't I drag him over here? I bet he'd love to hear what you think.” The other looks suddenly very nervous.  
“I mean yeah, okay, if you want. But I don't want to bother him, since you're obviously here to adopt.”  
“Aw, it's not a bother at at all! I bet he’ll think you're a really neat kid, uh,--” he stops, realizing he has no idea what the boy’s name is.  
“Virgil.” He says quietly. “Some people call me Verge.” He bites his lip awkwardly.  
“I'm Patton.” He smiles reassuringly. “Let me go get Logan, that's my husband’s name.” He dashes off, grabbing Logan quickly. He feels almost afraid that Virgil will disappear by the time he gets back. But when they return, he's still slumped at the base of the willow, spiral notebook now closed on his lap as he fidgets with his hoodie strings.  
“Logan, this is Virgil! Virgil, Logan.”  
“Hi?”  
“Virgil, like the Roman poet, I presume?” Virgil shrugs.  
“I guess.”  
“Speaking of which, Patton tells me you write poetry?” He nods, cautiously.  
“Yeah, mostly gothic stuff, but I did a couple sonnets for fun. Oh,” he grins a little. “I also have like seven pages of limericks.” Logan smiles back. Two seconds later, they've launched into an epic discussion of well, epics. Patton follows along as best as he can, throwing in an occasional “wow!” or “gosh golly!” But mostly, he leans against the cool, hopefully insect-free bark of the willow and listens. Eventually, he sneaks out to get Roman. The two boys study each other, and for a moment he worries that Roman will get all snarky and then everything will be a mess. But then, Roman cautiously asks if Virgil likes dragons and just like that, they're off on a conversation about mythical beasts and video games. They find out that Virgil is ten, his poetry is in fact impressive, especially for his age, and that he and Logan combined can absolutely roast Patton and Roman with three to four lines of poetry. Eventually, Tayln calls for the Sanders family to return inside to talk.  
“Bye Verge!” Roman stands up reluctantly.  
“Later, Princey.” He bids goodbye to Logan as well.  
“Hey Patton?” He gives a small, sad smile. “Thanks for talking to me. Whichever kid you adopt will be really lucky.” Patton doesn't know what to say, so he just hugs him. Virgil tenses in surprise, but quickly relaxes.  
“We’re going to be really lucky to have that kid.” He brushes the hair out of Virgil’s eyes. “At least, if he wants to be a member of our family.” Virgil makes a tiny gasping sound then squeezes Patton tighter.  
“Yeah, I think he'd like that a lot.” 

Patton stares out the window, watching the landscape roll away once again. The amount of excited energy in the car makes the air feel like static. As they pull up to St. Joan's, a small figure leaps up from the stairs, lugging a suitcase and a notebook on the verge (heheh) of falling apart. Roman rolls down the window, sticking his entire torso out of it and causing Patton and Logan to exchange concerned looks over the safety of their child.  
“Hey little bro!” They step out of the car and all pile into a hug around the newest member of their family. He squirms, muttering about being unable to breathe and blushing furiously. All the same, he returns the hug.  
“All the paperwork has been finalized, which means we're ready to go.” Logan informs them. Roman demonstrates a feat of strength by attempting to Judo flip Virgil’s suitcase into the trunk. Admirably, he succeeds, but not without several additional scratches to their newly washed car.  
“Come on, get in!” Roman tugs on Virgil’s sleeve, all but dragging him to the door. Patton giggles.  
“Well, if you were going to change your mind it's too late, Roman has already moved on to the kidnapping phase of our plan.” Virgil snickers, but meets Patton’s eyes seriously all the same.  
“I wouldn't. Change my mind I mean.” Patton ruffles his hair.  
“I know. Oh! Before I forget…” He grabs a bag from the trunk. “This is for you. A welcome home gift.” He pulls out a brand new, leather notebook. Virgil’s eyes go wide.  
“No way! For me.”  
“Yup! It's all yours!” Virgil dives in for a second hug.  
“Thank you,” He looks up at Patton and smiles. “Dad.” 

 

“DAAAAAAD” Roman’s shriek comes from down the hall. “Verge stole my sword!”  
“You were trying to hit me with it!” Comes Virgil’s slightly less shrieky response. Logan lets out a long sigh from his position next to Patton on the couch.  
“And I'd almost started reading, imagine that.” There's a loud crash from down the hall, followed by scuffling. Logan groans again.  
“I'll go see.”  
“Thanks, Love!” Patton calls after him. A moment later there's another crash.  
“Nicola Tesla!” He gets up, mildly concerned, and heads to Roman’s room. What he finds is Roman, predictably, being held at sword point by his brother, slightly less predictably. Logan is on the floor, appearing to have tripped over some complicated booby trap rigged by Roman. All three of them look guiltily at Patton as he steps in. He takes a moment to fix his “disappointed dad” look on each one of them before his allows himself to crack a smile. Then, he swoops in and wraps his arms around Virgil.  
“Run, Prince Roman! I'll save you from the rogue knight!” Roman grins and dashes out.  
“Heyy, no fair!” Virgil complains. “Stop him!” Logan complies, grabbing at one of Roman’s ankles. In retaliation, Roman grabs the ends of Patton’s sweater, and his grip on Virgil sends them both tumbling to the ground. They all end up in a pile on a bean bag, out of breath and giggling. For a reason he can't quite explain, Patton feels emotion welling up. He looks from his husband to his two sons. It's taken a while to build this family, more twists and turns than anyone could have predicted. It was a whole lot of arguments and complications and heart ache. But it was also wonderful, and beautiful. Above all else, it was a family.  
And that was all Patton could ever ask for.


End file.
